the voice of katrin hannan-bobe
Meet Katrin Hannan-Bobe, a local designer and style savant behind the boutique staging firm, s t a g e d.
Katrin beautifully adorns vacant and occupied dwellings with high-end aesthetics to set the stage for a successful sale. We sat down with Katrin at milehimodern’s listing, 128 South Fairfax, to explore the mind of a designer and witness her proven process.
- What’s your backstory?
- My background is in graphic design. After 20 years in the advertising industry, I took time off to raise a family. Coming back to work after a hiatus, I did not want to be stuck behind a computer again. I’ve always loved interior design, so staging has been a great segue into a related field.
Also, living in NYC for 15 years, I moved apartments a lot, and I’ve always been good at jury-rigging any space — no matter how temporary — to make it look its best.
- Where do you like to source your modern furnishings?
- I love to shop small and local whenever I can. When having to resort to big box stores, I try to be savvy and hunt for floor models. I also love layering old and new. Denver has some fantastic vintage stores — I like to mix in vintage pieces whenever possible.
- Describe your approach with staging a client’s listing or room?
- Staging is different from interior design in that its first and foremost objective is to help sell a space. To do so, it has to appeal to as many prospective buyers as possible and not to just a single client, as in interior design. I try to highlight a property’s positive attributes and downplay its negatives. It can’t be too taste specific — and I often have to tone down my own taste and pull it back a little. Having said that, if it’s also taste-neutral, staging can sometimes be a bit bland and generic. That’s where I try to differ and strike a balance — to have broad appeal yet give it a little extra design flair.
- Colors are vital to interior design, what’s your current color crush?
- I’m happy to see warmer palettes making a comeback. I love seeing earth tones and organic materials. Copper and pewter green makes me happy. I do think they need contrast to set them off — blacks to ground them, or whites to make them pop.
- In your opinion, what makes a house a home.
- A dog.
- Summarize your aesthetic:
- Eclectic yet clean
- Who or what is your design muse?
- My amazingly talented friend Andrew Egan in NY. Everything he touches is aesthetic gold.
- Finish this quote: In design, …
- …rules are meant to be broken.
- If you could recommend any pivotal books, podcasts, leaders, social media influencers, etc., what would you recommend?
- Design for the Real World by Victor Papanek — a book that is as old as me. It was required reading when I attended design school back in the day and still as relevant as ever.
On social media, I love @designboom, an online design + architecture magazine that has stood the test of time and rocks on Instagram. @core77 for all design and process obsessed makers and doers out there, and also check out @ruby_marylennox on Instagram. Gorgeous.
- Is there a project you are most proud of? Why?
- My first vacant stage was exciting – having cobbled together enough inventory to stage a whole house and to have it all come together. It looked gorgeous, sold in two days and it immediately led to my next job.
- Please give your favorite local shop or restaurant (or both) a shout out.
- My favorite vintage store in Denver is ‘In The Wild’ on Colfax, and I can’t wait to be back at Hop Alley for some Salt + Pepper Softshell Crab Lettuce Wraps. Hang in there, guys!
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